Over the last few years me and my husband have become increasingly interested in ghost hunting. There are multiple ghost hunting YouTubers we’ve spent evenings watching in that time, and alongside this we’ve binged TV series about ghost hunting, played a lot of Phasmaphobia, and even downloaded a ghost hunting app on my phone. Now despite all of this I don’t actually believe in ghosts (although my husband could be persuaded). I still find watching people sneaking about abandoned buildings and playing with flashy devices endlessly entertaining though, and I think there’s plenty of room to explore ghost hunting in video games even more. Ghost Frequency does just that, and is also one of the scariest games I’ve played in years.
Ghost Frequency is yet another short form horror game from Serafini Productions, who has been killing it with the BrokenLore series this year. Ghost Frequency isn’t part of the BrokenLore universe though, and is instead a standalone paranormal experience. You play as an experienced ghost hunter called Mark, who alongside his partner Emily is used to investigating all sorts of spooky goings on. When two ghost hunters they know go missing, Mark and Emily decide to check out the house they last went to explore. This goes pretty much as you’d expect, so make sure to bring a spare change of underwear.
All of Ghost Frequency takes place in this abandoned house, which isn’t as empty as it seems. There’s a standard procedure that Mark and Emily follow when looking for spirits, and that’s what you’ll have to follow. First you’ll need to take a look at the house so you know the layout. Then it’s time to place some cameras in key spots, which Emily can keep an eye on from the safety of the van. There’s also a phone app based on the real life app created by Italian ghost hunters PIT – Paranormal Investigation Team, which you can use to check EMP levels, look for temperature changes and capture voice recordings. This will all help you discover anything haunting the location, and you’ll be told when to use these features.
This will likely all sound familiar to ghost hunting fans or Phasmophobia players, but performing these tasks requires nerves of steel. The atmosphere of Ghost Frequency is exceptional, in the worst possible way. A lot of this is down to the fantastically realistic visuals, and sublime audio design. Each bump heard in the background will set your heart racing, and every time you slowly pan the camera around your hair will stand on end as you anticipate seeing something spooky. I was begging for the game to put me out of my misery and just scare the pants off of me already, but when that moment came I wasn’t prepared.
Ghost Frequency is a strictly linear scripted experience unlike more well known ghost hunting games, and for the most part this works to its advantage. It is only around forty five minutes long though, so don’t go in expecting this to be the next big game you’ll sink your teeth into. Even compared to other Serafini Productions games it’s rather bitesize, but as proof that this studio can make more than just BrokenLore it absolutely delivers.
I had a wonderful time with this nightmarish game, but it does have a few issues. The characters of Mark and Emily are never freaked out by what’s happening, and react to danger with a distinct lack of emotion which is pretty jarring. The ending portion of the game is very abrupt too, and culminates in a slightly frustrating section that I won’t spoil here but was a little underwhelmed by.
Ghost Frequency quite simply scared me more than a video game has in a very long time. It may be short, but if you’re looking to fill yourself with fear and dread it is incredibly sweet. Those of a nervous disposition need not apply, but for everyone else this is a must play horror experience.
